Wednesday, 6 September 2017

KATHLEEN LIGHTS USED THE N WORD | WHY HER APOLOGY PISSES ME OFF

I know a lot of my readers have no interest in drama or anything like that and I completely respect that, if this is not a topic that interests you or that you have an opinion about please don't read the rest of this post. Read my recent post about the Bourjois Velvet Lipsticks here instead. A few days ago Jaclyn Hill posted a snapchat when Kathleen Fuentes (Kathleen Lights) came over to her house to collaborate on a video. In the snap, Kathleen is playing a video game and says n**** the f***. You can watch the short 9-sec clip below, be sure to turn the volume up so you can hear it.

Understandably, a lot of people feel some type of way about it. I want to be clear that I abhor all racism and racial slurs, but this particular slur is not directed at me or my particular group of brown humans so this is not a I-am-so-offended post, however I do have some thoughts and feelings on this occurrence. A lot of her fans are defending her etc. and I will start by saying I am subscribed to both Kathleen and Jaclyn and I don't intend to unsubscribe but that does not mean I think this is okay. I will include screenshots of their respective apologies (Kathleen and Jaclyn) to read.

Firstly, a lot of heat was sent to Jaclyn for posting the snap in the first place. Allegedly, in the background Kathleen and someone else says don't post that. I, personally, don't think the snap is clear enough to corroborate this but Kathleen nevertheless says that she said not to post it in her written apology. I don't care. You still said it. You still used the word and whether you said to post it or not it's completely on you. Leave Jaclyn alone, she doesn't deserve that heat, however, some people think Jaclyn is laughing at the use of the word when she is laughing at whatever Kathleen is doing.

My biggest BIGGEST issue is when people with large followings get caught making a mistake and not being perfect they go to their default excuse: "That wasn't me" or "That's not who I am". It's bullshit. She dropped the word way too casually for it to be a one time offence and it bothers me that she is just pretending to be perfect when she isn't. Why can't people just apologise properly instead of making a list of excuses i.e. I told her not to post it, I was drunk, I never normally use words like that. That is what bothers me the most and what has made me lose some respect for her.

We don't all use perfect language all the time, and I am sure I have used offensive words myself ignorantly and stupidly. But if you have a following of that amount the least you should know is how to apologise properly, take responsibility for your actions and educate the masses on why it was wrong of you to do it. That is the least you can do. I am getting sick of half-assed apologies from brands and YouTubers when they fuck up. Nobody's perfect but learn how to say you are sorry.

Thank you for reading, if you did read this. Apologies if it didn't interest you. I only wanted to write a short post about why her apology and the reaction this incident got irks me on such a deep level. The excuse that she didn't use it in a derogatory way or in an offensive or racial way is also complete trash. That is not an excuse. Yes, she didn't say it to hurt anyone but the truth is it did and that is something you should be sorry for. In her defense, she is sorry and she has apologised profusely. Like I said, if this was directed at me and she said a word that would be personally offensive to me I don't know if I would be supporting her anymore and that is the truth. As it is I am no longer going to purchase her collaborations, I know she is working on a lip gloss. That is simply a personal choice, I am just getting a bit sick of being disappointed by people who claim to be better. But as mentioned I still watch and enjoy her videos. I am just disappointed. Take care.

10 comments

I am disappointed too, she was one of my faves and she was genuine, sweet and I always respected her for being who she is. But I don't feel the same anymore and I cannot accept she was drunk, she was feeling fine to play games and do whatever she was doing, it doesn't make sense. And the 'I never ever speak like that' is ridiculous, yes she does, this word doesn't come out just like that. I am so disappointed.

I don't believe for one second that Kathleen doesn't use that word when she actually said it twice in those videos. Is she a racist? I don't know think so. Drunk is not an excuse. She needs to learn from this. Jaclyn needs to stop focusing on the negative all the time. She feeds into it. Get off Snapchat all the time! It's too much. You don't have to be on display all day long. http://www.mrsqbeauty.com

I heard about what happened, and I agree, being drunk is not an excuse for her behavior. Yeah, the "n***a" is much less offensive than "n***er" but as an influencer with thousands of girls looking up to her, she has to be extra careful and guard herself in terms of her actions because she is constantly being watched. Anyone can take what she says the wrong way no matter how she intended it to be. I was reading about this on reddit and people were saying "well, she's Cuban and from Miami, people there are known for saying the 'n' word and Cubans are known for being racist and nationalistic" again, not an excuse.

I really don't know if I can support her anymore. As someone who's black, I take use of the word extremely offensively, and I was incredibly disappointed. No matter how drunk you are, the word doesn't just "slip" out - that's not how it works. She also didn't use it as an insult, she used it like a nickname or instead of "homie". It makes me really sad that she used it, it was posted, and that people who aren't of colour are accepting her apology on behalf of the black community. If the word doesn't offend you, or target your race, how can you accept the apology? I don't think she's racist, but use of the word and Jaclyn laughing makes me wonder how often it's said behind closed doors!

I saw the video and the word rolled off her tongue too easily for this to be her first time saying it. As a black woman whose ancestors were probably degraded using this word, I do not appreciate it at all when someone says it even if they didn't mean it in a racist way.

She clearly did not mean it in a racist way but it's still a racial slur and shouldn't be said. The people that are trying to excuse her by saying rap songs usually have the word in it. Yes they do but these songs are by BLACK rappers. It's not okay for anyone else to say it regardless of intent and more people need to realise that. She has apologised and I do hope that she was sincere in her apology and will never use it again but we can never know for sure can we? Thanks for sharing your thoughts Kiran. xx

Hello, I'm Kiran, the chronically sleep-deprived girl behind ALittleKiran. I hope you like my blog. Thank you so much for stopping by. For business enquiries you can reach me at: alittlekiran@gmail.com. I aim to respond to all emails within 48 hours.